1 Day

2009

UK

1h 41min

15

Directed by: Penny Woolcock

Written by: Penny Woolcock

Cast: Dylan Duffus, Duncan Tobias, Yohance Watson, Ohran Whyte

Well-meaning and yet fresh, that this 'hip-hop musical' plays so well is largely down to the courageous and painstakingly observed realism of writer/director Woolcock. The stylised action that at times risks drowning out the sobering message is also what makes the exuberant musical scenes flow, and the whole package does an important job in giving a voice to a disenfranchised sector of society.

Performance times

This film is not currently showing in cinemas.

With humour, sensitivity and confidence, Penny Woolcock’s hip-hop musical depicts the lives of gang members and their families in Birmingham. The cast of nonprofessionals is led by Dylan Duffus as Flash, a drug dealer who has 24 hours to come up with the £100,000 missing from the amount his jailed boss gave him for safekeeping. Irrepressibly soulful, 1 Day is grounded in a deep feeling for the survival of community in the midst of criminality.

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Reviews & features

(15) 101min
Billed as ‘Britain’s first hip-hop musical, on paper 1 Day sounds like a do-gooder Guardian-reader’s community play, dramatising social issues to a soundtrack of urban beats and songs delivered in a semi-operatic style. That the result…